U.S. stocks hit fresh highs this week after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen touted the strength of the economy and reassured investors that the central bank would only gradually tighten monetary policy.

The rally could get new legs after a spate of companies, including Netflix, Microsoft and Goldman Sachs, share earnings in the next week. Companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report a 6.4% rise in earnings in the second quarter, according to FactSet, which would mark the second straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth.

Here's what to watch in the week ahead:

Monday

China releases its closely-watched GDP reading from the second quarter. The economy grew at a pace of 6.9% in the previous quarter and China has predicted that its economy will grow just 6.5% in 2017. If that turns out to be the case, it would make for the slowest year of economic growth in a quarter century.

BlackRock posts earnings in the morning, while Netflix releases earnings after the bell. Investors will be focusing on the streaming giant's new subscriber figures, particularly since Netflix only added 4.95 million subscribers last quarter, below its own expectations for 5.2 million.

Tuesday

The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on the costs of being a public company in the current regulatory environment. SEC chair Jay Clayton has said he'd like to roll back burdensome regulations and, in his first move on the job, will allow all companies to confidentially file for an initial public offering. That option had previously only been available to small companies.

The Bank of England introduces a new 10-pound note with Jane Austen on it to commemorate the author's death 200 years ago.

Reynolds American holds a special shareholder meeting to vote on its $49 billion acquisition by British American Tobacco. The takeover will bring together brands like Camel, Lucky Strike, Newport, Kent and Pall Mall and create the world's largest publicly-traded tobacco company by sales.

The U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, which was established by President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in April, holds its very first meeting in Washington, D.C. Leaders from the two nations will discuss shared economic and trade issues.

U.S. housing starts for June are released.

Morgan Stanley posts earnings before the bell, while Qualcomm, American Express and Kinder Morgan share results later in the day.

Thursday

The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan will announce any changes to their respective monetary policies. The central banks are largely expected to stick to the status quo.

Dunkin Brands shares results in the morning, while Microsoft, ebay and Visa announce results after the bell.

Friday

General Electric, Honeywell and Schlumberger release quarterly earnings in the morning.